US: Tech shares lift stocks higher on Tuesday

WALL Street stocks finished higher on Tuesday following a choppy session, as markets digested a downgraded global outlook from the World Bank and awaited key inflation data.

Tech shares led the market as the World Bank trimmed its global growth forecast to 1.7 per cent for 2023, citing the effects of high inflation, rising interest rates and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the biggest economic release this week as far as investors will be concerned is Thursday’s consumer price index report, expected to show further moderation after big jumps in prices for much of 2022. The CPI data will be scrutinized for its implications on Federal Reserve policy, with the central bank enacting aggressive interest rate hikes to combat inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell avoided tipping his hand on future policy decisions Tuesday in a speech in Sweden, but said the insulation of the Fed from electoral politics allows it to hike interest rates if needed “without considering short-term political factors.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.6 per cent at 33,704.10. The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.7 per cent to 3,919.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.0 per cent to 10,742.63. Large tech companies generally had a good day with Amazon closing 2.9 per cent higher, Netflix up 3.9 per cent and Facebook parent Meta rising 2.7 per cent. Coinbase surged 13 per cent as it announced it was cutting 950 positions, about 20 per cent of its workforce, following the downturn in the cryptocurrency markets. Boeing dropped 0.9 per cent as it reported a jump in fourth-quarter plane deliveries but lagged rival Airbus in both full-year deliveries and orders. AFP